Teddy Bear
by Kirby's Cowgirl
Summary: The squad gets a replacement.


_Copyright 4/15 by Kirby's Cowgirl_

_Fan-Fiction based on TV Show Combat! Copyright Selmur Production, Inc, ABC, Image _

_Productions etc._

_Disclaimer: Combat! and its characters do not belong to me, t__his WWII story is a piece of fan-fiction__ and I am not being compensated in any tangible way for this story._

Teddy Bear

Yesterday, the Lieutenant had promised him four recruits to be delivered by a more experienced Corporal. _Yesterday._ Saunders looked at the lone, terrified greenie in front of him. "Where's everybody else?" he demanded.

The kid wiped his face across his sleeve. He had been crying, and it looked as if he had fallen down.

"We were hungry." He stopped, looked confused. "We were hungry. And we saw this duck. And Joe, he chased it into a field. Corporal Gleason went after him and they just _blew up."_ He swallowed hard, looked as if he might be sick.

Doc had moved forward instantly, and had a hand on the kid's shoulder, giving Saunders a look that the Sarge knew all too well.

"What happened to the rest of my men?" Saunders demanded, ignoring his medic.

"A convoy came by and the Sergeant took them."

"Why didn't he take you?"

"He said he didn't have crybabies in his squad." The kid swallowed hard again. "I never saw anybody get killed before."

Doc said something to him quietly that Saunders didn't hear and knew he hadn't been supposed to.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked tiredly.

"Theodore Baer."

"You sure you're not hurt?" Saunders gave Doc a look that meant he needed to _make sure. _

"I'm not hurt, sir." The kid stammered, and shook his head at Doc when he asked him again.

"You don't call a non-com sir!" Saunders barked out. The sheer terror on the kid's face made him wish he'd just let it go.

Doc gave him a look that plainly said, "_Back off."_ The kid had had all he could handle, and Saunders knew it as well as the medic did.

Kirby ground his cigarette out on the ground as he stood up. "Hey Teddy Bear!" he hooted with laughter.

The kid turned a furious red and Littlejohn reached over and cuffed Kirby in the ear.

Saunders was exhausted, and he'd had enough. He did not have to baby Kirby, and he shook his index finger at the Irishman. "One. More. Word. You're in Graves Registration."

Kirby slammed his mouth shut, looked horrified, and backed away. He didn't know what was eating at the Sarge, but he knew the man meant it. As many times as he had pushed boundaries, Saunders had never threatened him with _that._ Digging latrines for the rest of his life, or being thrown in the brig again… Actually, he wouldn't mind going back to jail. At least nobody shot at you in there, you had a roof over your head, and they actually fed you, instead of cold rations out of a can.

"It's alright -" Ted started.

"I give the orders here." Saunders barked. "And dammit, when I say quiet, I mean QUIET!"

Ted backed up a couple of steps, and bumped into Doc, who was grinning.

"You find something funny about this, Doc?"

"I'm just a happy guy." Doc said, which caused a shuffling of feet among the squad. Littlejohn was mortified. Caje was shaking his head. Grady was chuckling, and poor Billy looked like he wished the ground would swallow him up.

"Take the point, Blankenship." Saunders said, glowering at the rest of his squad. The recruit had been with them a few days. Long enough for Saunders to realize that he did not want the kid behind him with a rifle. He gestured for Caje to fall in line. Today was another of the days he felt like he was in charge of the toddlers in the church nursery. He had been mortified when his Mother had volunteered him to babysit. Until he'd found out that he'd be sharing duties with Maggie Olson, a girl he had _really_ liked. Watch a couple kids for a couple hours. Spend some time with a really pretty girl. No sweat. Until one of the little boys had taken a building block away from one of the little girls, who had promptly slugged him, and started a brawl. Maggie had gotten down in the floor to try and separate sparring toddlers, and gotten a black eye when she'd been slammed by a building block.

Chip had tried to pry the children apart, the little boy crying, and the little girl beating on him for all she was worth. Of course, all four of them had been in the floor when the town gossip walked into the nursery to collect her baby, and it been literally almost a year before Chip stopped hearing about it. Maggie Olson had never spoken to him again, and he thought that the Brat had said she'd gotten married in one of her letters -

The first shell hit. The men scattered. Saunders saw Doc shove Baer to the ground before he sought out cover for himself. The Sarge huddled next to Grady in the shallow ditch that was all they could find, holding his helmet with one hand and cursing their luck.

Sixteen hours later, Saunders, Caje, and Grady stumbled into what _had_ been Hanley's CP. The landscape had been blown to hell. It had taken all of the Sarge's skill with a map and Caje's expertise in the woods to get them back. They'd found what was left of Blankenship, but Saunders was afraid that the rest of the squad was dead.

"Saunders." Hanley said, glancing up from the map he was looking at. The last time the squad had been there, the building had been intact. Half the roof and two of the walls had been blown away. Hanley was propped against one of the remaining walls, and he noted the sheer exhaustion on all the men's faces. "Everybody but Blankenship is accounted for."

"He's dead." Saunders said.

"Sir?" Caje asked, looking as if he was going to be sick. Grady reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't look much better himself.

"Kirby and Billy took some shrapnel. They're in the aid station. I put Doc to work in there, and I had to send Littlejohn and Baer out with Beckley's squad."

Grady stumbled, and nearly fell, and Hanley continued, "Grab some chow and get some sleep."

"Yes sir, thank you." Caje said.

Grady nodded to Lieutenant Hanley and the two of them headed out.

"_Somebody_ took the replacements you sent me." Saunders said. "And whoever it was, was _too_ rough on Baer."

"He should be glad of it." Hanley said tiredly. "It was Britain, and he and I have had words before. He's dead, and everybody in his squad with him. I had to get Battalion to send Beckley's squad up to replace them."

"How bad are Billy and Kirby?"

"Billy got hit in the leg and they said he'd be okay in a week or so. Kirby's still unconscious. Baer carried him in."

"_Baer_ carried him in!" Saunders exclaimed.

"Doc carried Billy and he said Littlejohn wore himself out running from the point to the rear trying to cover them."

"I do get him back, right?" Saunders asked.

"You'll get him back." Hanley assured him. "Get some sleep. You look like you're going to fall over."

"I feel like it too." Saunders tried to grin at his friend and didn't succeed. He headed for the aid station where he found Grady talking to Billy, and Caje looking worriedly at Kirby's bandaged head.

"Hey Sarge." Billy said tiredly. "I'm glad y'all are ok. Kirby still hasn't woke up."

"Thought you were going to eat." Saunders said to Caje.

"Not hungry." The scout said, his eyes not leaving Kirby.

"Sarge?" Billy hesitated. "Baer's not a coward. He carried Kirby all the way back. And he did just what Littlejohn told him to. He could have run off and left us and nobody would have known any different in all that mess."

"Thanks for telling me Billy." Saunders said. "Get some rest." " Come on." He told Caje and Grady and the three of them headed outside, where Caje just plopped down on the ground outside the building.

Doc found them there later. Caje and Grady were asleep, but Saunders was not. He knew the Sarge well enough to know that even though the man's helmet was pulled down, and he _appeared_ to be resting, he was wide awake.

"Sarge?" he whispered.

Saunders tipped his helmet back, and the medic saw the raw fear in his eyes for just a second before he hid it.

"Kirby's awake. And he feels good enough that he pinched one of the nurses."

"I knew he had a hard head."

"Thanks, Doc." Caje whispered. "Are you alright?"

"I'm good, Caje. How about you?"

"I'll make it." The Cajun's eyes closed and he was instantly asleep.

Doc looked over at Saunders, saw the Sarge was asleep too. Both of them had just been waiting for news about Kirby. Grady was snoring. All this part of his flock needed was rest. There was nothing he could do for Littlejohn and Baer right now. Billy was as comfortable as they could make him. He _could_ go keep an eye on Kirby so that the little Irishman didn't get the last of his brains knocked out by an irate nurse with a bedpan.

"Sarge?" Doc's voice woke him instantly. The medic was standing a safe distance away holding a cup of coffee. When he saw that Saunders was awake, he continued, "Lieutenant Hanley wants to see you at 0700. He said for you to grab a shower and some hot chow first." He stepped closer and offered Saunders the coffee.

"Since when do you bring me coffee?" Saunders took a sip, and decided that he might live after all. As the caffeine started to flow thru his system he groaned. "What the hell did Kirby do now?"

"Well, he pinched one of the orderlies this morning."

Saunders nearly choked and he raised an eyebrow at Doc.

"He still has trouble focusing his eyes. The Doctor said it would just take a couple days." Doc chuckled. "I think Baer wants to talk to you but he's a little bit scared."

Saunders waved the recruit over from where he had been standing a respectful distance away, and Doc left.

"I can wait until you finish your coffee, sir." Baer shuffled his feet. "I'm sorry, I did it again. My Daddy taught me I was always to call men I respected "sir", and I guess I don't agree with all the army's rules." He hesitated. "I just wanted to tell you that none of us would have gotten back if it weren't for Littlejohn. Maybe one day I can learn to be a good soldier like him."

"Littlejohn's a good man."

"And I wanted to ask you if I could transfer to Sergeant Beckley's squad?"

"Kirby's not going to tease you anymore."

"I'm used to that." Baer looked embarrassed. " It's just that - nobody in Sergeant Beckley's squad knows that I cried."

"The guys won't tease you about that either." Saunders drained his coffee and stood up.

"But I know they know -" Baer stopped.

"I will let Lieutenant Hanley know that you asked. But it will be up to him and Sergeant Beckley."

"Thank you."

"Thank you for carrying Kirby back. He acted like a jackass and nobody would have blamed you if you'd left him."

Baer just nodded as he backed away.

Beckley grinned at Saunders as he walked into Hanley's CP. "Don't suppose you'd let me have that big guy?"

"No, but Baer asked to transfer to your squad."

"I thought his name was _Ball._ My hearings going." Beckley shrugged. "Be glad to have him. Good rifleman. Kid'll make a soldier."

"Why's he want to transfer, Saunders?" Hanley shot him a look. "Kirby tease him?"

"He did, but I put a stop to it." Saunders shrugged. "He's ashamed that my guys know he cried because his buddies died. I told him nobody would hold that against him. Britain did some damage."

"Britain was an ass." Beckley said.

"We've got replacements coming next week, he'll have to stay with you until then. Maybe Billy and Kirby will be fit by then too."

"I'll make sure that Kirby thanks Baer and apologizes again." Saunders said.

"Or he'll be right back in the aid station." Beckley said.

There was just a trace of a grin on Hanley's face. "My visit with him this morning was rather _interesting."_


End file.
